Hansbrough returns home, helps UNC top St. Louis

Hansbrough scored 15 points as second-ranked North Carolina
captured its seventh straight win with a 69-48 victory over St.
Louis.

A local legend at Poplar Bluff - which is about 150 miles from
St. Louis - who finished his high school career with consecutive
state championships, Hansbrough displayed his normal
high-energy game in front of numerous family and friends,
shooting 6-of-13 from the field and pulling down 13 rebounds.

"I wasn't trying to get caught up in things outside the game,"
Hansbrough said. "It was great to see a lot of my family and
friends at the game. A lot of people that watched me in high
school got a chance to see me in college, which is great for
them.

"I did feel more pressure than usual because I wanted to impress
a lot of my close friends and family who may not get a chance
to see us play in Chapel Hill."

Apparently, the 6-9 forward's return proved to be very popular,
as a crowd of 22,539 filled Scottrade Center, a school record
for St. Louis.

"I wish it was like that every time," Billikens center Ian
Vouyoukas said. "It was a great atmosphere. The crowd was
really into the game."

Although the Tar Heels (10-1) missed their first six attempts
from the field and shot 29 percent (10-of-34) in the first half,
Hansbrough helped carry his team, scoring the first four points
and nine before halftime.

Hansbrough did have a tough guarding the 6-10 Vouyoukas, who had
10 of his 14 points in the first half.

"He's a different type of player than I've faced," Hansbrough
said. "He's one of those guys that you can't give an angle.
He's a European player who is skilled and is very crafty. That's
something different than I'm used to guarding."

The reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year,
Hansbrough found freshman forward Deon Thompson for a jumper and
added a layup moments later to close UNC within 24-22 with 4:07
left in the first half.

The Tar Heels grabbed just their second lead of the game at
27-26 on a three-point play by freshman Brandan Wright with 1:26
to play, an advantage that lasted into intermission.

"I told them at halftime that I didn't think we should be
behind," St. Louis coach Brad Soderberg said. "We had a
meltdown in the last five minutes of the half, taking bad shots
and panicking against their traps."

In the second half, Hansbrough hit a jumper for a 34-30 edge
with 17:43 remaining, and UNC put together an 11-0 spurt to pull
ahead, 52-36, with just under 9 1/2 minutes to play.

Overall, the Tar Heels shot 60 percent (15-of-25) in the second
half, including 5-of-9 on 3-pointers,

"It was their offense," Soderberg said. "We couldn't stop them
in the second half. That's the grounds of my frustration, and it
still is.

"How can we go from holding them to 29 percent in the first half
and 60 percent in the second half. That's not my idea of
quality basketball. There are some reasons, and part of it is
their depth wore us down."

Danny Green, who shot 4-of-5 on 3-pointers, finished with 14
points for the Tar Heels, who improved to 3-1 in the all-time
series.

Wright and fellow first-year player Ty Lawson scored 12 points
apiece for North Carolina, which held a 41-31 advantage in
rebounding and 19-4 edge in second-chance points.

Vouyoukas shot 6-of-12 and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Billikens
(9-3), who shot 37 percent (19-of-52), including 1-of-10 from
the arc.

Tommie Liddell was the only other player in double figures for
St. Louis with 13 points.